President Obama Forms Task Force to Crack Down on College Sex Assaults

Published January 23rd, 2014

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GAINESVILLE -- To combat the number of sexual assaults on America's college campuses -- including the University of Florida -- President Obama on Wednesday announced the creation of a new task force that will help develop ways for colleges and universities to crack down on the problem.

Numbers released Wednesday by the White House show one out of every five women are sexually assaulted while in college, yet only 12 percent of the victims actually report the crime to authorities.

That lead the President to announce the creation of a task force designed to help colleges better respond to cases of sexual violence.

Officials at UF's Dean of Students office -- which handles all conduct complaints for the university -- say the nature of most sexual assault cases often makes them difficult to manage, an aspect they hope the task force can help find a solution for.

"In those situations, there's often a lot of alcohol involved, and often times the report happens much later. They don't happen the night of the incident," said Chris Loschiavo, UF's Director of Student Conduct & Conflict Resolution.

Last academic year, UF received 8 complaints of sexual assault -- much higher than the one or two cases the university normally receives. Officials attribute the jump to more outreach efforts by the university.